The same state of the art radar technology that keeps birds away from airports is now being used at Syncrude.
Ontario-based company Accipter Radar Technologies says it recently installed the largest and most sophisticated bird protection system ever developed, at Syncrude.
The company says, much like older systems, the new system uses high-powered acoustic devices, propane cannons, strobe lights, and animated fake predators to scare birds away.
But it can also measure the location, altitude, speed, direction and size of each bird, and tell whether it’s flying towards a tailings pond or just flying past it.
The companies are now planning on storing that data to study better ways to keep birds away from sites in future.
